Our Lives in a Nutshell
by Hazukashigariyasan
Summary: Now that Amaterasu is back home, everything is back to normal... which is actually pretty darn unfortunate. From small crushes to missing undergarments, follow our beloved goddess and her 13 friends on their daily adventures!


**Excuse the lame title. I was bored, so I decided to just try and write a bunch of random ideas and such onto a piece of paper. That's when this was born! If anyone goes somewhat or way too OOC, go ahead and tell me.**

**Anyway, yeah... This was originally going to be a fanfic for another fandom, but I decided to do it for Okami so that I could mess with the Brush Gods. ^^;**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Okami in any shape or form.**

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><p>Two small, beady eyes glared at the target that was teasing him with its blank stare. Getting into position, the small mouse raised a single kunai that was nearly ten times his size, the smooth metal reflecting the sunlight that dared to hit its surface. The straw dummy was unaffected by the threat that was in front of him, and the only response that the Brush God got was the slight tilting of its hat when a light breeze blew through the Plains.<p>

Growing impatient, Tachigami raised his weapon even higher while he silently eyed his target's poorly-drawn face. "Be prepared to meet your end," he hissed. The small mouse yelled a fierce 'HAH!' as he charged towards the dummy with absolutely no mercy. With one clean swipe of his trusty kunai, the upper portion of the ill-fated target fell to the ground, sadly forgotten as the small God began to chuckle at his own triumph.

"Impressive," a familiar voice said from the distance. "However, I do not believe that you can give Gekigami a run for his money yet."

The mouse was slowly replaced by the appearance of a young boy, who apparently was irritated beyond repair. He huffed a stray strand of his snow white hair away from his face and whirled around to face a rather smug-looking Yomigami.

"So what if I'm small," the small God exclaimed. "When I get older, I can whip that old man's-"

"Tachigami," Yomigami interrupted, looking at the confused boy with a disapproving face. The light that reflected off of his glasses only made the God of Restoration look even more intimidating, and Tachi tried his best to appear unaffected by staring right back at him. Their little staring contest continued for countless minutes, both not moving a single inch. _There's no way that I'm gonna lose to him_, Tachigami thought as determination continuously ran through his veins. Being the competitive little nuisance he was, even the wise Yomigami couldn't deny his skill.

Finally, after an entire hour passed, the smaller God sighed in defeat as he crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine, fine! You win!" he whined, kicking the hilt of his forgotten weapon that laid silently on the soft grass. The older of the two chuckled and ruffled Tachigami's hair, completely ignoring his groans and protests.

"You know how much Mother Amaterasu disapproves of bashing the other Brush Gods, right?" He asked the 'young' boy. Tachigami merely nodded, not even making eye-contact with him. _He's impossible_, the God of Restoration thought as he continued to watch Tachi sulk. Yomigami ran his right hand through his own hair, which was conveniently tied up in a low ponytail. When he noticed that Tachigami wasn't going to recover any time soon, he let out a small grunt and left the sulking mass without another word.

As Yomigami's figure disappeared behind a hill, Tachigami sprang up and stretched his arms, smirking in delight. "Heh, he thinks that he's always right," he muttered, picking up his weapon and slashing it through thin air. "But even Mother Amaterasu complains about us every once in awhile."

Already pumped up, the small God prepared to resume his training, only to be stopped by the sight of the sun setting. _Darn it_, he thought as he watched the sun droop slowly behind the horizon. _Yomigami wasted too much of my training time!_

Groaning, he walked towards the main part of the Celestial Plain as he dragged his over-sized weapon with him. He didn't entirely understand why even him, one of the most powerful gods that ever lived, had to turn himself in when it became dark out. _It's just like in the land of mortals_, he thought as he recalled watching children and adults alike retire into their homes for the night. But of course, just like anyone else, even the Gods need their sleep. Unfortunately, Tachigami wasn't exactly the type that got a kick out of resting, especially since he is regularly scolded at for coming home so late.

"Oh well," he said with a sigh as he approached a pair of gigantic double doors. Opening them would be too much work, so he simply opened a smaller door that was to the left of it and slammed it shut. _Well, I guess I am a little bit tired_, he thought as he subconsciously stifled a yawn. As he walked, he passed by countless banners that were hung on the walls. All of them were the portraits of the 13 Brush Gods, with Mother Amaterasu (who of course, had the largest banner) at the end of the hall. A now sleepy Tachigami pushed the crimson red curtain aside while rubbing one of his eyes in the process.

"I'm back-"

"Tachi's back!" three voices exclaimed, all in sync. Suddenly, the small God was tackled by both Hasugami and Tsutagami, the third of them merely watching the display of affection.

"G-Get off me!" Tachigami yelled, gaining the attention of the other Brush Gods. The two monkeys, who both had the appearance of teenage boys at the moment, laughed as they let go of the fuming boy and ran off to hide. Sakigami, who didn't even bother to change back to his god form, gave the smaller god a simple wave before trotting off after his brothers, his _shō_ still in hand.

Shaking her head, Amaterasu couldn't help but sigh at the current situation. "Everyday.." she said, her train of thought interrupted by a sharp shriek. Naturally, the Goddess of the Sun jumped a little bit before fixing the creases that formed on her clothes. She coughed awkwardly, ignoring the stares that she was getting from the others. Her hand motioned towards Nuregami, who quickly came to her in response. Several of the Brush Gods had to move out of the way to avoid stepping on her ridiculously long kimono.

"Go check on what happened, if you don't mind," Amaterasu said once she was close enough. Nuregami was about to open her mouth in protest, but then she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Right away," the woman replied, brushing a long strand of hair behind her ear. She paused to look at the source of the disturbance, already sensing that this wasn't going to go very well. The large room was suddenly full of whispers and giggles, since everyone else knew exactly what just happened. Nuregami, being the 'proper' woman she was, rolled up her long sleeves in order to prepare for the ordeal that apparently she had to fix. _Those three are always getting into trouble,_ the goddess thought as she quickly made her way towards Yumigami's quarters. The occasional loud 'BAM!' echoed through the halls, but it was nothing that she hasn't been through already. Finally, she appeared right in front of the crescent shape door, already reaching for the doorknob. Once the door flew open, Nuregami was greeted by the Hanagami trio, two of them sprinting out of the room as fast as they could. The third, of course, simply walked out and followed his brothers again.

"For the love of Amaterasu, what is going on in here?" Nuregami asked, her sleeve covering a portion of her face to hide an obvious smirk. Yumigami dropped her kine and whirled around to face the 'distressed' woman.

"What's going on, you ask?" She forced out through her gritted teeth. "That... idiotic trio did THIS!" she shrieked, and she promptly pulled a nearby curtain aside to show the damage that was done. Several blobs of her mochi was sticking to the walls, and one piece even managed to fall on Yumigami's shoulder. She shuddered in response, and the water goddess wasn't sure if it was of disgust or rage.

"I...see..." Nuregami replied, stepping aside to avoid soiling her clothes. She looked to the far left corner of the room, where the moon goddess's beloved usu was cracked straight down the middle. _Oh dear,_ she thought, _Yomigami has a lot of work to do._

"I swear, we need to put those three on a leash," the moon goddess muttered, trying her best to clean up the remaining mess. The other woman nodded, still surveying the room. After a few minutes passed by (and the mess wasn't as bad), Nuregami decided to be the one to break the silence.

"Should I go tell Yomigami to fix your-"

"No need," the girl replied. She wiped the sweat that managed to accumulate on her forehead, and sighed. "I can fix it myself."

"Oh... okay. If you say so," Nuregami replied, and then she exited the room quickly to avoid Yumigami's incoming rants and such. She sighed and leaned against the wall, still a bit tense from what just happened.

"So, the Hanagami Trio strikes again?" a feminine voice called. Not even bothering to look up, the other woman nodded.

"I see," Kabegami replied as she hopped off of the wall and landed right in front of her. The bells that were part of her hair ribbons jingled every time she moved. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," Nuregami replied. She took a deep breath, and immediately her stress melted away. Smiling at the shorter of them both, she gestured towards the other end of the hall. "Shall we go back to tell Mother Amaterasu that it happened again?"

"As if she'll care," Kabegami said, her finger wrapped around a portion of her hair. "This happens almost every day."

"You're right..." the woman replied, and then they began to walk back to the main room. Both of them remained silent most of the way, especially since Kabegami wasn't exactly fond of the element that Nuregami had control over. It didn't bother her, however, since she knew that it was a natural disagreement.

"We're back," Nuregami said as they entered the large room yet again. Kabegami made her way towards the nearest wall and proceeded to walk up its surface as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She walked towards the other Brush Gods while Nuregami chatted with Amaterasu.

"They were at it again, hm?" Itegami asked, his signature horn hanging lazily around his neck. Kabegami nodded, raising her head to face the other Brush Gods.

"If only we could make them stop, then maybe the Plains will be at peace once again," Yomigami said, crossing his arms at the thought of the Trio doing even more devious deeds. The others murmured in agreement, all except for Kasugami.

The goddess limped towards Yomigami, putting her arm around him as support once she got close enough. Yomigami, being as uptight as he was, tried to turn away from her to avoid smelling the strange mist. "Listen up... all of you," she said, slowly swaying back and forth. Gekigami snorted, obviously not impressed by her appearance.

"Why should we?" he asked the drunken woman. "You're the one who helped them escape with Ite's horn by slowing down time."

The other gods nodded in agreement. Even Kasugami, being heavily intoxicated, had to agree with that.

"But you see, we can always..." she paused briefly to let out a small hiccup, "get back at them..." Her voice trailed off as her head dropped down suddenly. At first, everyone else was confused. Moegami was actually convinced that she died. However, her snores interrupted all of their thoughts.

"Maybe she's right," Moegami said, pulling his pipe out of his mouth to speak. "Thing is, how do we do that?"

"I have an idea-"

"NO! Just no, Bakugami!" Kazegami immediately yelled, already knowing what his plan was.

"...Alright," the middle-aged man replied, looking rather cross. Nuregami, who came back just a few minutes ago, patted him on the back to comfort him.

Everyone started to talk amongst themselves, discussing different ideas for their plan of revenge. Moegami suggested burning all of their instruments, but it would obviously make them furious to the point that they'll do even more damage. Tachigami fell asleep during his thinking process, so Nuregami left momentarily to put him in his bed. Even Amaterasu retired to her own quarters, and with time, even more of the gods left to rest. The only ones left were Gekigami and Yomigami, besides the mist goddess that was currently passed out on the floor.

Yawning, the lightning god leaned on a nearby wall. "Even now, I don't have a single good idea."

"Hmph, that's rather strange of you," Yomigami replied. Both were undeniably exhausted, but they refused to give up. You see, they had this thing called 'perseverance'. However, they only call it that to feel better about themselves, and really, they're just plain stubborn.

"I can't think straight until I get some sleep," Gekigami grumbled, banging his head on the wall once. The other man nodded in agreement, trying to stifle a yawn. Stretching his arms, the lightning god began to walk to his quarters, that is until he jumped in surprise when Yomigami let out a brief 'AHA!'

"I got it," Yomigami exclaimed, putting his hand on Gekigami's shoulder to get his attention. "You see, all we have to do is..."

Whispering into his ear, the restoration god explained every detail that had to do with his plan, and the other couldn't help but be amazed by how fool-proof it was. Once he was done, Gekigami took a step back from the other man, just because he liked his space.

"Not bad..." he said, crossing his arms.

"Perfect. We'll tell the others tomorrow."

The two men shook hands and promptly walked to their rooms, completely ignoring the goddess that still occupied the floor. Right after the two left the main hall, Kasugami suddenly woke up, somehow banging her head on the nearby table in the process.

"H-Huh? What's going on...?" She asked no one in particular. Scanning the room, she searched for something interesting that could occupy her for the rest of the night. _Hm... everyone's asleep_, she thought as she took a quick gulp of the strange liquid that was always by her side. _Whatever._

And of course, without even bothering to get up and go to her own room, she passed out yet again on the marble floor.

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><p><strong>...not as long as I wanted it to be. But whatever, It's pretty darn late. I better go to sleep now, since I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I may or may not continue this... it really depends. Well, now that I got this out of my system, I can get back to work on "Time Again". :D<strong>

**...And...um, by the way... if you do choose to review, can you give me some ideas that can help me form their so-called 'fool-proof plan'? I honestly have no clue what to put. I'm such a failure. xD**

**Remember; reviews make me write a lot faster. Criticism will make it a whole lot better, so don't be afraid to speak your mind! My ego will eventually heal. ;)**


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